Conspiracy Theories; Conspiracy Theories Everywhere

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A conspiracy theory is an explanation of an event or outcome as a result of a secretive yet influential organization. It is a question of reality. Conspiracy theories possess an undeniable attractiveness due to the mystery behind what our eyes may be missing and the curiosity as to what society is not told.

A popular conspiracy in the realm of many is the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Following the Bay of Pigs Invasion, JFK threatened to shut down the CIA seeing as their work was lacking much needed quality. Theorists believe that the CIA, feeling intimidated, conspired to kill the president as a result; an inside job.

“It makes sense because JFK didn’t want to go into Vietnam, however the CIA did. It’s peculiar to think that Kennedy’s brother, Robert, was going to attempt to reopen JFK’s case to see the effects of what happened, yet before he could, he then came up dead. As well, how could one of the top snipers of the military attempt and fail to recreate the shot that killed Kennedy, yet an unknown man through the use of a poor gun was capable of such in the first place?” Rachael Collins (12) said.

From presidential to press, theorists appear to cling to the idea of the death of famous individuals.

Gabby Coleman (12) said.

Coincidentally in the same year Tupac is said to have not died, multiple theorists claim that Paul McCartney, legendary musician, did. Yet if the theory is indeed true and McCartney passed so many years ago, who is the man society knows to be alive today?

The theory begins with a male by the name of Billy Shears; a close friend of The Beatles. Many believe that following McCartney’s passing, Shears replaced the singer, further keeping the death a secret.

“The first reason I believe the theory is because Shears looked so much like Paul McCartney that often enough, fans thought he was Paul, therefore making an easy imitation. Despite some people claiming that it is not a legit source, there is also an interview where Ringo confesses that Paul was replaced by Billy following his death, legitimately confirming the idea. As well, Shears’ father’s last words were ‘I wish my son Billy would get credit for his accomplishments,’ although Shears hadn’t done anything of significance since 1966, unless he was pretending to be Paul,” Faith Hezel (12) said.

As a species, one of our greatest talents is to find causal connections when there may or may not be any. The human tendency is to find weight in evidence that supports our beliefs and dismiss the evidence that does not. Conspiracy theories rise out of the way in which we, as a population, process information and question truth.

Honorable mention:

“I believe that the Earth is actually flat for it’s a physical thing that you can see. I know it may sound crazy or like a ‘taboo’ idea, but for example, when you look at the horizon it’s not round but flat. The thing is when you think about physics in terms of a round Earth, it doesn’t make sense. My dad was the one who introduced the idea to me, yet I didn’t really believe in it until I did some research for myself,” Rayne Rogers (12) said.